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Date: 1/3/2024
WESTFIELD — The 2022 and 2023 Westfield Volunteer of the Year award winners are appreciative of the recognition but were also appreciative of the organizations they volunteer for as well.
“It was exciting just to be nominated with so many other great volunteers,” said Michael Raposo, of the Westfield Little League.
Raposo, alongside Sheila Elmer, Robert Plasse and Patricia Steele-Perkins, were celebrated at a ceremony at City Hall on Dec. 20, where Mayor Michael McCabe presented them with citations and spots on the city’s Volunteer of the Year plaque. Raposo and Elmer were designated the 2023 awardees, while Plasse and Perkins, who could not attend due to a scheduling conflict, won the 2022 awards.
Perkins, who declined to be interviewed, was awarded for her work with Grandmother’s Garden, which tends to a flower and herb garden in Chauncey Allen Park. She is a board member and volunteer coordinator. She also helps with gardening, grant funding, booking events, and recruiting new volunteers.
“Thanks to Pat’s unwavering dedication, Grandmother’s Garden is a beautiful spot for the community to enjoy,” said McCabe at the ceremony. “Thank you for what you do, Pat.”
Raposo won for his work with the Westfield Little League. Since 2010, he has been a coach, a manager, and vice president. Currently, he oversees the league’s operations, handling organization, scheduling, and lining up volunteers. He himself played in the Little League as a kid, and wanted to give back.
He thanked the 150 coaches and volunteers that make up the organization, as well as the 30-person board, all of whom he said he wouldn’t have been able to win without. He believes it’s an honor to be involved and continue the baseball tradition in town. The organization has been around for 75 years and has lasted longer than many other youth organizations, he said.
“It’s about the kids and giving them a great opportunity to advance, both on the field and in life in general,” he said. “There’s just so many great lessons the kids can learn.”
Plasse, president of Westfield on Weekends, similarly thanked the board of his nonprofit, the city of Westfield, the business sponsors of their events, the volunteers, and anyone who contributes to WOW’s well-being. The honor, he said, goes to the entire organization.
In November, WOW won the “Nonprofit of the Year” award from the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce. Plasse feels wonderful about both awards.
“It just validates all the effort and the hard work that so many volunteers put in to make Westfield such a wonderful place to live,” he said.
Westfield on Weekends hosts community events such as PumpkinFest and DecemberFest. It is entirety volunteer-run, except for two people who were hired to help with day-to-day operations. Its goal is to enrich and connect the community, especially in an increasingly divided world.
“To create a space where people can discover their own creativity, their own uniqueness, and to celebrate not only their own uniqueness and creativity, but those of others,” Plasse said.
Elmer was surprised by the award, not knowing how to feel about it.
“There’s other people who probably deserved it more, but I do appreciate it,” she said.
Elmer received the award for her 10 years of work with the Westfield Farmers Market, where she helps with set up, take down, and anywhere else someone needs help. She also does outreach and membership drives with the VFW Post 872 auxiliary in Southwick, and at the Westfield Senior Center as a senior companion.
She also picks up trash off the side of Westfield’s main roads, such as Route 20 by Walmart. She has gained some local recognition for this, with people donating bags and gloves, as well as signs that encourage drivers to slow down when she is cleaning.
Elmer runs by the motto, “I see a need, I fill a need,” which is written on the side of her van. She encouraged everyone to volunteer somewhere, even if they can’t do much work.
“Everybody can put a piece in and be a part of the whole picture,” she said.